Arusha resident held over death of `lover`

Police force here is holding a woman for stabbing to death a man suspected to be her ‘lover’ in a fight whose source was yet to be established.

Arusha regional police commander Thobias Andengenye confirmed the incident, naming the deceased as Abiud Lema, whose age is estimated to be between 60 and 65.

The RPC named the woman who is suspected to be behind the killing as Sabina Shirima (29), a resident of Sanawari area, one of the popular suburbs in Arusha. He explained that the incident occurred on Tuesday night at around 11pm at Sanawari area and police were still interrogating the suspected woman.

RPC Andengenye said earlier investigations show that the deceased was stabbed by a steak knife on his left leg, causing him to bleed profusely.

“Our officer, who went to the scene, found blood stains scattered all over the room, ” he said, adding: “We’re still investigating the incident and cannot conclude that his death was caused by overbleeding. The doctor who did the postmortem is yet to release the report,” he said. Aluya Swai who is the sister of the deceased said the late Lema was working as a driver with commuter buses plying between Arusha and Moshi.

“We still don’t know what happened, because during the confrontation only the two of them were in the room. We’re waiting for the police to tell us as to why the suspect killed the deceased,” she said, while shedding tears.

She said that the late Lema was stabbed in a house, close to his own in Sanawari area and that the suspect informed the local government leaders in the area, who took the deceased to hospital.

One of Lema’s children, Anandumi said: “The cause of my father’s death remains uncertain as it does not make sense to me that the lady is the one who killed him. I went into the house; the blood was on the floor only. Her bed and the door had no blood at all.”

He added that the lady who is suspected to be behind the killing was very new in his eyes. “We’re waiting for the police report,” he said.

The late Lema is survived by a wife and seven children and the body was preserved at Mount Meru Regional Hospital’s mortuary.